Muslims take bulldozer to 'illegal' mosque in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal

Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh: Muslims in Raya Buzurg village under Asmoli Police Station took a bulldozer to the Ghausulbara mosque on Sunday.

The demolition came as the four-day deadline given by the district administration to remove the "illegal" structure expired.

The Ghausulbara mosque was initially scheduled for removal earlier, but the mosque committee members requested four days to carry out the demolition themselves.

The committee members first used hammers against the mosque, but as the deadline began to close in, they resorted to bulldozing it.

Yasin, a member of the mosque committee and a native of Raya Buzurg village, said, "Today marks the completion of the four days given to us. We are speeding the demolition of the mosque."

Another villager, Zeeshan, said, "We are acting according to the time given to us by the administration and are demolishing the mosque ourselves."

On October 2, an illegal marriage hall in the same area was demolished by the authorities in presence of police.